A Mother's Love
by I 4 2 write
Summary: When the white fairy, Fiona, learns of her unborn son's destiny, what will she be able to do to change it? My guess on how the Black fairy went Dark and how Rumple was born.


"There is no escaping it, Fiona," The Blue fairy said angrily. "You know Fae are not to fall in love with mortals. We are not to have children. You gave yourself to that wastrel and you see what comes of it."

Fiona rubbed her swollen stomach. A child was growing inside her. A perfect, beautiful baby. Gods, how she loved him already! All those years protecting and loving children, but never holding a child of her own in her arms, had been torment. She'd thought Malcolm would be delighted. What man wasn't thrilled at the news he was to be a father? She was naive about the ways of the cruel and selfish, having never seen very little except kindness and love her whole life.

She had seen it so often in her time looking after children. She'd seen fathers and mothers celebrate, holding the new addition to their family. If the family was well off, often the baby would be pampered with lavish clothes, toys, and books. Even in the poorest families though, she'd seen how they stuck together whether times were good or bad. Having the love of a child made anyone rich. Fiona wanted that enough that she didn't care about the cost.

"You know Fae can not have children with other Fae," Fiona answered. "A human was the only answer. I want this child more than I want my heart to continue beating. And- Malcolm isn't as bad as he seems. He's a child at heart himself."

Even as she said that, she knew the childlike, playful nature she'd first been attracted to in Malcolm was nothing but irresponsibility and laziness. He'd once told her he never wanted to grow up, and she'd been naive enough to think he meant keeping the innocence and wonder children possessed. He would adore the child though. She was sure. When she'd told him they were to have a baby, he'd smiled, kissed her, and told her he was going to find a new, better job that would be the start of a new life for them. She hadn't seen him in months. Fiona had continued to go between the two worlds, hoping he would return to her soon, and that she could share the joyful news with at least one other fairy who would understand and help.

If Fiona had to live as a human, hiding her magic, she would feel better knowing at least one other fairy was protecting her son. At first, she had trusted Blue. The two had disagreed on almost everything, but so far Blue had seemed as devoted to children as she was. Blue had agreed to "help." Fiona had been grateful, until she realized "help" meant trying to convince her she was doing the wrong thing.

"You will be cast out! You know the penalty for having a child. Fairies do not fall in love. They do not have families. Our whole purpose is to watch and protect children from afar."

"If I am cast out, then I will live on the streets begging as a human if I have to, but my baby and I will be together. I will never abandon my son, not for all the magic there is. I will never leave him unprovided for or unloved" She could feel him moving inside her. She was sure the child was a boy. And he would be strong, in love and light. "My son and I will be protectors of children as we live among them."

"We can not lose you to the world of humans. You are the white fairy, the leader of us all. That is why I have kept your time with the human a secret so far, but this can not be hidden. If this scandal gets out and you end up giving up our world-"

"Then what?" Fiona challenged. "More fairies might see your tyranny? You rank second, but you belittle everyone else because you're not first. Even being only half Fae my child will have more power than you and you know it. And that threatens you, doesn't it? Besides, do you think I'm going to act as if my baby is something to be ashamed of?"

Fiona was so powerful all the rest of the fairies couldn't hope to stop her. It was a double edged sword to Blue. Keeping the child would mean exile for the white fairy, whether her mortal husband stood by her or not, and leave Blue in charge. However, more and more fairies were struggling with protecting other's children but being denied any of their own. If they followed Fiona's example, it would mean disaster. And if the child grew and tried to take his place among the Fae- with even half her power-. No, that could not be allowed. The child had to be eliminated one way or another.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was weeks later, when Fiona was very nearly ready to give birth, that Blue came to her again. There was still no sign of Malcolm anywhere.

"I will be leaving permanently for the world of humans soon," Fiona told her simply. "There is no changing my mind, whether Malcolm will help me raise our son or not."

"The child can not be allowed to grow," Blue told her. "He is destined to be lost in darkness. I have been shown his future."

Fiona had been looking away from her, but now whipped around to face her.

"You lie!"

The Blue Fairy held up an object. Any fairy would recognize it at once. It was the eye of the Fates, the eye that let them see the future. So Blue had gone to see them to learn the child's future then? It lifted into the air, and the light that shown from it formed an image. The baby was grown into a man. Fiona's eyes filled with joyful tears as she realized who he was.

"My son. He's so handsome. Look at the love in his eyes. Look at his smile. He is so good, like I knew he would be. He's absolutely perfect. Look at him holding that baby. He loves children as much as I do. His heart must be the purest that ever was. Together, we will keep all the children safe. You'll see. The day will come when fairies and men will work together side by side thanks to that."

Then the image changed. The man was covered in greenish gold scales. He slayed one man after another with a dagger while a young boy looked on in fear. He turned another man into a snail, cruelly stepping on him. Visions showed him ripping hearts out of chests, crushing them.

"No!" Fiona choked, tears coming. "My son is not evil! LIAR! You're only showing me this to convince me to abandon him." But even as she sobbed those words, she knew the images would come to pass. The Fates truly could not lie, not about events that had to take place. "Whatever causes my son to have such darkness, I will prevent it."

"You can not save him Fiona. Not even you can change the fates. No one but a true monster would do the things he will do, and only a worse monster can allow him to exist. He will be too lost in darkness to save. You have to keep him from existing. Working together, our magic can eliminate him."

Fiona shook her head. "Never."

Fiona was sickened by Blue's words. She'd saved other children, always. Her son would not be the one child lost under her care. There had to be something she could do. There was no one among the fairies to help her. Blue would end the child before birth given the chance. So Fiona sought safety the only world left to her, the world of mortals.

She'd been on the streets for two days before she came to the hut of two ladies spinning at their wheel. Something about the whirring sound was comforting, and she dared to knock at the door and beg for food. .Maven and Mildred could not have been kinder, offering her a hot meal and a place to sleep. She did not reveal herself as a fairy, and they did not ask what a mother to be was doing alone, out of politeness. When the day came for her to give birth, they helped her, and placed the baby in her arms. Her smiles covered her whole face.

"We'll have to come up with the perfect name for you. Names are so important." She'd been thinking of names since she was sure she was pregnant, but nothing seemed right so far. For now, she would focus on that, and just enjoy dreaming of their future. The darkness would not claim him. She would find a way.

As soon as she was able. She went to see the fates, carrying her precious child with her. She didn't trust what Blue had shown her. Not everything in the future was fixed. Some things were in flux, and could be changed. Him being lost in darkness had to be one of those things.

"You know why I have come," she told the Fates once she reached them. Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos looked up from their work. It was fascinating watching them work. The threads were either spun long or cut short. Some were common and rough, like straw. Others glittered gold, the threads of the Fae and the gods.

Clotho nodded. "Come, look at the child's thread"

Fiona spotted it easily. was no thread like it. Fiona was relieved to see how long it was, far longer than any of the other threads. Strangely, it seemed to be broken at one point, and then it reconnected to the many other threads, continuing on far beyond the threads of humans. It seemed rough and common at first, but then seemed to merge into the gold, becoming pure. Human and Fae bonds were mixed, with the Fae finally dominating. But a black, ugly, knotted thread wrapped it's way around her son's. They were so tightly entwined, Fiona could not honestly be certain where one thread ended and the next began.

"That black thread- it affects so many. Who's thread is that?"

"It is the thread of the Dark One. It is a cursed being that takes full possession of a person. Once it takes a a person over, there is no hope for them. The person they were will die, even if their body continues to live," Lachesis explained. "Eventually, each person who takes on the curse will die by the dagger that possesses them, and the curse will pass to their killer. It will cling to your son, and he will not be able to escape it's grasp. Not without great sacrifice."

"But with great sacrifice- he can break free of the curse?" Fiona clarified.

Clotho nodded, and Atropos spoke.

"Any curse can be broken with strong enough love. True love. But the curse by it's very nature will slowly smother his ability to love. Once that is gone, so is any hope."

"I can't accept that," Fiona said determinedly. "There is always hope."

"No one individual could ever have light strong enough to fight a curse so evil," Atropos told her. Of all the Fates, Fiona liked her least. She was the one to cut the threads of live, thus severing hope. Fiona believed that was the only point when hope was truly gone. As long as she and her baby were alive, she would somehow keep that hope going. She turned to Clotho.

"You spin the thread. You can make some change. Whatever has to be done, I'll do it. Anything."

Clotho focused on her spinning, and then at the child. He was entranced by the wheel, loving the motion and the soft whirring. There was something special about him. There was no question of that.

"I give your young one a gift, Fiona. He shall be the finest spinner the world has ever know. He will learn the trade of a wool worker, spinning and weaving for his living, and the day will come when he will spin straw into gold. Furthermore, his gift for spinning will allow him to take the gift, the burden, of a Seer. He shall be able to see the threads we spin when he chooses, and make choices according to what he sees."

Not knowing what was happening, the baby watched as his thread twisted just slightly.

"But the Dark One's thread is still wrapped around him," Fiona noted. "His insight will not save him?"

"No. That will come only after he is cursed. As we've said, only a sacrifice of great love can undo that."

Fiona spied her own thread. It glowed pure and white. She knew the choice she had to make.

"Change my thread. Give my light to him."

All three Fates stared at her. They had known this was coming, of course. But to see such a sacrifice being done was still a rare sight.

"This is altering your own destiny, Fiona. This can not be done without changing the nature of who and what you are. You will be left with nothing but darkness, the most vile of monsters," Clotho warned her.

"But my son will be spared?"

"No, but it will lead to him breaking free from the curse in time."

"Then do it."

Clotho looked at her in genuine sorrow, and touched both her and the baby's threads. The black thread of the Dark One loosened farther up in the baby's life, eventually unraveling and falling away. Fiona's thread turned black in the very near future, far darker than even the thread of the Dark One. Fiona gasped and tensed, but it was done. There was no undoing it, and she wouldn't if she could.

"Enjoy the few remaining days you have with your son," Clotho advised. "In three days, you will be able to send your light into him."

Fiona understood why she could not keep her son. As dark as she was now destined to become, she could not be trusted near any child. The separation would be more painful that her own oncomming darkness. She couldn't imagine being so dark she couldn't love the baby in her arms, but she knew it was the only way to make sure her son held his own ability to love.

For the remaining three days they had ahead of them, Fiona doted on her son. She didn't name him now. If she did, she didn't think she could ever give him up. But that wouldn't means she wouldn't do everything she could for him. He'd have a home with the two spinners, Maven and Mildred. They were delighted with the baby, and it eased Fiona's mind to know that her son would be loved. Still, the ticking clock was always on her mind. Every second now was one less second with him. She hoped he'd understand.

"I have to give you your best chance. I can't break fate and keep you from being lost in darkness, but I can give you the light you need to find your way back. I can't be near you after. The light I give will be my own. Only darkness will be left in me. I will be a monster, but someday your light will restore what has been lost. Your light and the light I give you will shine, and the darkness will not win. Someday, your magic will be a gift, not a curse."

She had never thought to see Malcolm again, but it was then that he came in to the hut. Had Fiona knows for certain he had just overheard what she said about magic, she might have never done what came next. Malcolm came in, his face alight as if he were overjoyed at finding his wife at last.

"Fiona! Thank the gods I found you!" He kissed her, and even after not seeing him for so long, she returned the kiss.

"This is our son, Malcolm."

Fiona had many gifts, but reading thoughts was not one of them. If it were, she would never have let Malcolm so much as touch the baby. She didn't know as Malcolm took the baby in his arms, looking into the big, tear filled eyes, that he was thinking the child was a spineless worm, no more than a leech on his money and time. But if the child had magic- well then, it would be worth his time to feed and clothe the little larva.

"He's perfect, Fiona."

"Then- you will take care of him, Malcolm? I- I must return to my home country for a time. But as soon as possible, I'll come home."

That was perfect for Malcolm. No mother around who might interfere with how he treated the boy.

"Of course my love. You will see he has been well looked after when you return." He kissed her. "I'll take him home now so you can rest for your journey. I bought a fine house for us just today." The truth was he was staying at a tavern, but he could keep her from learning that.

All Fiona could think of in that moment was that her time with her son was over. She held him one last time, telling herself this was what had to be for the child to not be lost forever.

"I can't name you, my dear one. Your father will name you. If I do, I'll never be able to let you go. But I can give you one gift before I say goodbye. Remember, you are loved. At times that will seem impossible, but you are." Taking a breath, she softly spoke to him, using magic to be sure even though he was too young to remember, the words would remain.

"Sleep well, my bairnie, sleep.  
The lang, lang shadows creep,  
The fairies play on the munelicht brae  
An' the stars are on the deep

The bogie man's awa',  
The dancers rise an fa'  
An' the howlet's cry frae the bour-tree high  
Comes through the mossy shaw.

Sleep well, my bairnie, sleep.  
The lang, lang shadows creep,  
The fairies play on the munelicht brae  
An' the stars are on the deep."

Fiona kissed his forehead when she finished the verse, and he looked at her, reaching for her face before falling asleep in her arms for the last time. Malcolm didn't know that with that last kiss, she had frozen his magic until the time when he would need it worst. She ws sure Malcolm would not know how to raise a child with magic. And no child should have to learn about magic alone. Now, he would be a grown man with access to people who could help him by the time his magic awakened.

It was either leave him now, or she never would. She wanted to never forget his touch, this feeling of holding her child. But she would forget even love. It was the only way he wouldn't. She would give anything for him, even her soul. She watched Malcolm watch out the door with him, and felt everything inside her hatter.

"Goodbye, my wee bairne, my dear one." She looked at the two spinners.

"You've both been so kind, but one last favor please? Watch over him always. Make sure his father provides for him. He's doing well now it seems but- I would feel better knowing others were there for him too."

"We will," they both promised.

Fiona gave them one last smile. Then, she transported herself back to her world, keeping the portal open. Holding her hands in front of her, she sent the light from her own body. She saw it go through the portal into her child. He'd woken up crying, confused at his mother's absence, but now he stopped, the light giving him extra courage. So brave. So good. Fiona wanted to hang onto that thought, the thought of the bond she and her son shared, but even that had to go into him if he were to fight the darkness. The final battle would take place in his heart between light and dark. Dark could not claim her child.

Then that thought was gone. Every bit of light had gone from her to save the baby from his fate, leaving only a dark void where Fiona's heart had been. Her once white robes now were black to match her soul. Blue arrived, feeling the shift in the light but too late to stop it. Horror overcame the Blue Fairy's face as the now Black Fairy gave a cold, cruel laugh. What had she done?


End file.
